PLANS to bring next year’s Eurovision Song Contest to Scotland have been reignited after the organisers of the annual pop gala announced it would need to be held in the UK.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the BBC confirmed that the show would be hosted here "on behalf of this year’s winning broadcaster, Ukraine’s UA:PBC."

They also announced that the host city bidding contest would begin this week. 

Both Glasgow and Aberdeen have already expressed an interest. 

It follows on from the EBU's announcement last month that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine meant they did not have “the security and operational guarantees required for a broadcaster to host, organize and produce” the competition. 

Instead, “in accordance with the rules and to ensure the continuity of the event,” they were in talks with the BBC to host next year’s event in Britain. 

The news led to a flurry of towns and cities across the UK offering to stage the event.

Glasgow’s council leader Susan Aitken said it was a "complete no-brainer" for Eurovision to come to the city. 

While Aberdeen's MSPs and MPs wrote to BBC Director General Tim Davie to say the city was "perfectly placed in terms of infrastructure, cultural offering and sheer enthusiasm to hold the event."

Councillors in the North East have even allocated £30,000 towards a bid for the contest. 

Similar offers were made by politicians in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, London, Belfast and Liverpool.

But, at the time, the Ukrainian culture minister, Oleksandr Tkachenko, insisted that his country could still host the contest. 

He even suggested that hosting Eurovision in the UK would undermine the country in its war with Vladimir Putin. 

However, in a statement this morning, the BBC’s director-general Tim Davie revealed that the contest would now come here. 

He said: “It is a matter of great regret that our colleagues and friends in Ukraine are not able to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.

“Being asked to host the largest and most complex music competition in the world is a great privilege.

“The BBC is committed to making the event a true reflection of Ukrainian culture alongside showcasing the diversity of British music and creativity.

“The BBC will now begin the process to find a host city to partner with us on delivering one of the most exciting events to come to the UK in 2023.”

Green MSP Ross Greer tweeted that this was Glasgow's "moment to shine". 

Mykola Chernotytskyi, head of the managing board of Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC, said: “The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will not be in Ukraine but in support of Ukraine.

“We are grateful to our BBC partners for showing solidarity with us.

“I am confident that together we will be able to add Ukrainian spirit to this event and once again unite the whole of Europe around our common values of peace, support, celebrating diversity and talent.”

This year's event was won by Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra, with the UK's Sam Ryder in second. 

Martin Osterdahl, the Eurovision Song Contest’s executive supervisor, said: “We’re exceptionally grateful that the BBC has accepted to stage the Eurovision Song Contest in the UK in 2023.

“The BBC has taken on hosting duties for other winning countries on four previous occasions.

“Continuing in this tradition of solidarity, we know that next year’s contest will showcase the creativity and skill of one of Europe’s most experienced public broadcasters whilst ensuring this year’s winners, Ukraine, are celebrated and represented throughout the event.”

The contest  - which last year was watched by 161 million people - is a substantial undertaking. 

According to Eurovision’s criteria, a host city must have a stadium that can accommodate around 10,000 spectators and be within easy reach of an international airport. 

The location must also have enough hotel accommodation for at least 2,000 delegates, accredited journalists and spectators.

Glasgow has some experience of hosting large events. Last year, 120 world leaders and over 40,000 registered participants came to the city for the COP26 climate summit.

What may prove tricky for the BBC is the cost of the contest. While the EBU will provide some money towards the running, the corporation will have to find millions more. 

Given that the BBC needs to find £285m in savings and has announced a raft of cuts to services, it may be difficult to justify the expense. 

In 2019, the Israeli Public Broadcaster had to borrow €16.5 million from the government to pay for hosting the contest. The total budget for that year was around €28 million.